


Confidant

by Cumberbatch Critter (ivelostmyspectacles)



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Character Study, Gen, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Rewrite
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-28
Updated: 2017-05-28
Packaged: 2018-11-05 20:23:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11020911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivelostmyspectacles/pseuds/Cumberbatch%20Critter
Summary: Give him the strength to stand up for himself, pleaseGodgive him the strength to stand up for himself because he can't take kneeling at Kamoshida's feet for any longer.[Yuuki character study, corresponds to the scene where the three of them confront Kamoshida in the PE office.]





	Confidant

What was he thinking… he was going to get himself in trouble… or worse… and what was _he_ thinking, going after Kurusu like that… he didn’t even _know_ Sakamoto that well… if he chose to start a fight with Kamoshida, that was his own fault…

Except it wasn’t… not anymore. Suzui…

He was still shaking as he ran into the PE office, though. Damn it, seriously _damn it_ –

“… Huh?”

“You bastard! What the hell did you do to that girl!?”

Confrontation was really not his thing. It was why he had never told Kurusu about spilling his records… even if he had wanted to… even if he had regretted that. It was why he had never been able to say anything to Kamoshida… why he couldn’t stand up for him… for Suzui… oh God, why was he so _spineless_?

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb with me!”

“That is enough!”

Sakomato kicked an actual chair; it went clattering and Mishima _hated_ that he flinched a step back when it did. He wanted to collapse. He wanted to curl in on himself. He wanted… he wanted… he wanted to stand up for himself, but it was _so_ hard–

“What you did…” The words were out before he even knew he was speaking. He felt like he could barely breathe. His fingers crawled into his hair. He couldn’t put his face in his hands if he was going to continue speaking. “… wasn’t coaching…!” Oh God he was going to be destroyed, he was going to pay for this. He couldn’t talk to any teacher like this– not to anyone– especially not _Kamoshida_ – he didn’t want him to hurt him– but he _couldn’t_ handle letting him hurt anyone else, not… not after–

“What did you say?”

He couldn’t– he couldn’t– he couldn’t let him hurt anyone else! If it was going to be someone, let it be him! He didn’t want that, he _didn’t_ … but… not _anymore_ … he couldn’t _stand_ watching it, anymore. “You… You ordered me to call Suzui here…” If he hadn’t, would she have jumped? If just that one time, Mishima had said ‘no’, would Suzui have been okay? Would she have been able to weather it? Or would she just have done it another day? Was it too late? Could he have stopped it, changed it? He didn’t even know if she was still alive! What if she… what if she… “I can only imagine what you did to her…!”

No more. No more. Not any longer. _Please_ …

If no one else was going to do it… maybe he… maybe _he_ … if Kurusu was carrying on, despite all of this, despite everyone calling him criminal, despite not knowing _anything_ about Kamoshida or this school at all, if _he_ could, then maybe… maybe…

“You’re going on and on about things you have no proof of…” Kamoshida pushed himself up out of the chair, drawing himself up to full height.

Oh _God_ – oh God oh God oh God–

Kurusu stepped in front of him, holding his arm out. It wasn’t even that pronounced. A half step, a slight extension of his arm– his _hand_ , really. Kamoshida probably didn’t even notice. But Mishima did. Because no one had ever done that for him. He hadn’t even learned to stand up for himself, let alone expecting anyone _else_ to stand up for him… let alone expecting a _stranger_ to…

He’d regretted leaking his criminal record since the day he had done it, and he had been wracked with guilt every single time he looked over at Kurusu in class. He didn’t even know why he’d been looking. Asking him to silently forgive him for something he didn’t know he’d done. He was going to _hate_ him when he told him… he was going to… he was never going to do _this_ again… he wouldn’t move to protect him if he _knew_ …

But that wasn’t right now. Mishima couldn’t… he would just have to deal with that when it came out. Sooner rather than later, he expected, as Kamoshida still stared him down and it made him want to _quake_.

“Basically, you’re simply making these claims because you can’t be a regular on the team, right?”

Instead of folding to his knees– yet– he opened his mouth instead. “That’s not what this is about…!”

He felt his eyes widen immediately following, and he wanted to clap a hand to his mouth and go to his knees to beg for _forgiveness_ this time, but no, he didn’t _need_ forgiveness, not from Kamoshida, he owed him nothing, _nothing_ –

He didn’t know if it was Suzui’s suicide attempt. He didn’t know if it was Sakamoto’s anger or Kamoshida’s blasé attitude, but… he thought… maybe… part of it was that Kurusu was still standing that half step into his personal space and for the first time in, well, _forever_ , Mishima had found his courage to stand up for himself.

However briefly. Because he still felt like he was going to collapse. But God was it exhilarating. Thrilling and terrifying in waves.

Kurusu gave him a calculated look, over his shoulder and only for a moment, and then nodded. Almost imperceptibly.

Mishima wanted to smile; he couldn’t do it right now, not just now, but he _felt_ like it, just in that second. Just as he got that tiny bit of approval.

(Approval. What a _concept_.)

Mishima took a deep breath and nodded back.

He could do this. He could do this. He could… it would take time. And effort… but he _could_.

He had to try, at least.

**Author's Note:**

> Someone give this boy a blanket and make sure he gets sleep later on in the game. I just wanted Akira to protect him so badly.
> 
> ~~i kind of want to write yuuki's reaction when akira doesn't hate him for leaking his records... considering that happens about ten seconds after this scene lol~~
> 
> ~~~~I do not own _Persona 5_. Thanks for reading!


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